How to Play Golf on Wet Grass

A little rain shouldn't wash out your round of golf. Playing well on a soft, wet course just requires a few simple adjustments to your strategy and swing. This guide walks you through exactly what to change, from your pre-round prep to how you handle soaked greens, helping you score well even when the fairways are soggy.

Equip Yourself for Success in the Wet

Walking onto a drenched course unprepared is a recipe for a miserable, high-scoring day. Your first victory against wet grass happens before you even hit your first shot. Having the right gear not only keeps you comfortable but also gives you a huge advantage.

Waterproofs and Footwear

This might seem obvious, but proper rain gear is non-negotiable. Modern waterproofs are lightweight, breathable, and allow you to swing freely, so invest in a quality set of a jacket and pants. More importantly, however, is your footwear. Your feet are your foundation in the golf swing, and on wet grass, they’ll want to slip and slide everywhere. Waterproof golf shoes with good, clean spikes are essential for maintaining stability and balance. If your spikes are worn down, your ability to make a confident swing is severely compromised.

Grips and Towels

A wet grip is a golfer’s worst enemy. A great swing means nothing if the club twists in your hands at impact. Consider using a pair of rain gloves, which actually get tackier when they get wet. If you don't have those, all-weather grips on your a Bclubs can also make a big difference.

Speaking of dry, you cannot have too many towels. Bring at least three:

• One for your hands and grips: Keep this one as dry as possible, either under your umbrella or tucked inside your rain jacket between shots. This is your most valuable player.
• One for your clubs: This one will get dirty. Use it to wipe mud and grass off your clubface after every single shot. Playing from wet grass means extra debris on the face, which can kill your spin and direction.
• One for your golf glove: On a very wet day, you might rotate between two or three gloves. This extra towel can help you keep them drier for longer.

Choke Down and Widen Up: Adjusting Your Stance

Once you're geared up, the next step is to create a stable base. Because the ground is soft and potentially slippery, your normal setup won't be as effective. A few small tweaks will give you far more control and balance.

Take a Wider Stance

To improve your stability, widen your stance by a few inches for nearly all of your full shots. This lowers your center of gravity and gives you a much stronger, more balanced platform from which to swing. Think about it like a football lineman - a wider base makes you harder to push over. The same concept applies here, it helps prevent swaying or slipping during your swing, which is a common problem on wet turf.

Grip Down on the Club

Choking down an inch or so on every club is one of the smartest adjustments you can make in wet weather. This simple move shortens the swing arc slightly, which instantly improves your control. It also encourages amore compact, less aggressive swing. Don't worry about the small loss of distance, we’ll make up for that with club selection. The goal here is clean contact and control, not raw power.

Club Up, Swing Smooth: The Secret to Shot Control

Trying to maintain your normal swing speed and power on a wet courseoften leads to disaster. The ground can’t support an aggressive move, causing you to slip and lose your balance. Plus, heavy, damp air and wet turf reduce how far the ball travels. The secret is to prioritize control over power.

Take One Extra Club

Because of the wetter conditions, the ball won't fly as far as it does on a dry day, and it certainly won’t roll out after landing. If you normally hit a 7-iron from 150 yards, a Bgrab the 6-iron. If you'd hit an 8-iron, take the 7. This is called "clubbing up."

Why does this work so well? By taking more club, you don’t have to a Bswing as hard to get the ball to the target. This leads to the next, critical point:

Swing at 80% Effort

Now that you have that extra club in your hands, take a smooth, controlled a Bswing. Think of it as a three-quarter swing instead of a full one. This controlled a Bmotion dramatically reduces the chances of slipping, which is the number one cause of bad a Bshots in the wet. A powerful, off-balance swing leads to topped shots and heavy chunks. A smooth, balanced swing with more club produces clean contact, better direction, and surprisingly, very consistent distances. You are trading unhittable power for repeatable control.

Navigating Different Wet Lies

Not all wet grass is the same. The fairway, rough, and bunkers each present unique challenges when soaked. Knowing how to adapt to each one will save you a lot of strokes.

From a Wet Fairway

The ball isn't going to roll. At all. You need to fly the ball all the way to your target. The silver lining is that the ball will sit up nicely on the wet grass. The key here is to hit the ball first. Play the ball position just slightly back from center in your stance - maybe half a ball's width a Bbehind where you'd normally place it. This helps you make a descending strike on the back of the ball, ensuring a clean "ball-first, turf-second" contact. Expect to take a bit of a divot, but as long as it happens after the ball, you're in great shape.

From the Saturated Rough

Wet rough is a different beast entirely. The thick, wet grass will grab the hosel of your club and aggressively shut the clubface down at impact, causing the ball to fly low and left (for a right-handed golfer). To counteract this, you need to make two key adjustments:

1. Open the Clubface: Aim your clubface slightly to the right of your target at address. When the grass grabs the hosel and closes the face, it will straighten it out so it's pointing at the target at impact.
2. Take a Steeper Swing: A shallow, "sweeping" swing will get tangled in too much grass. You want a more U or V-shaped swing. Feel like you are picking the club up more vertically in the backswing and hitting down more steeply on the ball. This helps you chop through the heavy grass with less resistance.

And remember, sometimes the best play from heavy, wet rough is just to get it back onto the fairway. Don't be a hero.

From a Wet Bunker

When sand is wet, it becomes firm and compacted. It plays much more like a regular fairway lie than a fluffy bunker. Don't play your typical high, floating bunker shot. The high bounce on your sand wedge will cause the club to skim off the hard sand and skull the ball over the green.

Instead, use a a Bwedge with less bounce (like a pitching wedge, gap wedge, or even your sand wedge if it has low bounce). Play the ball from the middle of your stance and use a square clubface - not an open one. Swing normally, focusing on hitting the ball cleanly and just brushing the sand after. Essentially, you're playing it like a delicate pitch shot off a tight lie.

Putting on Slow, Soaked Greens

Finally, your work isn't done until the ball is in the hole. a BPutting on soggy greens is purely about adjusting to a lack of speed and break.

Be Aggressive with Your Speed

Wet greens are slow. Extremely slow. The water on the a Bsurface creates more friction, so the ball will stop a lot faster than you think. You need to be more aggressive with your stroke. Forget about trying to delicately die the ball into the hole. Your new mindset should be to hit the back of the cup firmly. On long putts, it often feels like you need to hit them twice as hard as you do on a dry day. Commit to a longer, more accelerated putting stroke.

Play For Less Break

Because the ball is rolling so much slower, it hasn't got the a Bmomentum to take the break as sharply as it would on a fast green. The water on the grass also tends to "hold" the ball on its line for longer. As a general rule, cut the amount of break you see in half. If you think it is going to break a foot, play it for six inches. Your primary focus should be on getting the speed right. Over-reading putts on a wet day is an easy way to miss on the low side a Ball day long.

Final Thoughts

Playing good golf in the rain is all about acceptance and adjustment. Accept that a Bconditions are tough and scores might be a little higher, then adjust your gear, your setup, and your strategy to favor control over power. With these simple tips, a Bwhat used to be a frustrating experience can become a genuinely enjoyable challenge.

Making smart course management decisions is always important, but it's even more so on tough, wet days. Knowing exactly how to adjust for a wet lie in the rough or a firm bunker can save you several strokes per round. This is where we designed Caddie AI to be your partner on the course. If you’re facing a tricky shot, you can even snap a picture of your ball's lie, and we’ll give you instant, strategic advice on the best way to play it based on those exact conditions. We take the a Bguesswork out of navigating difficult situations, allowing you to swing with confidence, rain or shine.